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My name is Allen Young. I'm a writer based in Sacramento.

I’ve spent the last decade covering business and politics in California. I publish stories in print, radio and video.

I applied for my first newspaper job at age 10. As a journalist, I'm fearless. As a person, I'm funny and awkward. My lips are always a little chapped. Yeah, haven’t figured that one out yet.

My work has appeared in Comstock's Magazine, The Daily Beast, Sacramento Bee, KQED News,andThe Washington Post.

Breaking News

A rumor of impending layoffs circled the newsroom in the weeks before they hit, but the reporters didn’t know the size of the reduction, or who would be targeted.

Christopher and the Mayor

“Boys, there was an accident,” Cabaldon recalls his father saying. “You were in a car accident, and your mom didn’t make it.” The next thing Cabaldon remembers is the sound of himself screaming.

The Little Festival That Was

At about noon on the second day of TBD Fest 2015, as the first of some 20,000 fans entered West Sacramento’s dusty waterfront to watch the local DJ crew Sleepwalkers, a staggering panic fell over the festival’s founders.

The Way Back Memoir by Allen Young

With each interview I conducted and report I filed, I sought to understand how these great rolling machines had destroyed the person I used to be and killed the person I cared about most.

If you imagine a humming city as a living body, the conventional alleyway might be the large intestine. It’s a lonely grey loading zone, a collection point for garbage, and a covert space for drug use and violence.

The Conductor

Though he bristles at the label, rail authority CEO Jeff Morales is a master salesman. High-speed rail is a good product. That’s not the problem.

The Tattooed Professional

“There would be times when I walked into a meeting and, great, I’m the only young person, I’m the only female, and let’s top it off — I’m covered in tattoos. Let them stare. I have beautiful artwork.”